- Thread starter Ryan
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Jim_No_Garage
Well-known member
And the journey begins. Nationwide Worldwide purchases of 80-20 or it's equivalents are going to increase. I've been thinking about HF's offerings but your approach could be interesting to follow along.
Looks good so far!
Cheers
Jim
Looks good so far!
Cheers
Jim
gleman
Well-known member
Are you going to do a kit, sell plans or an actual cart?
I'm interested.
I'm interested.
Patrickm82
Well-known member
That extruded aluminum is awesome! You can make anything with that stuff. Looks good so far , I’ll be following
OP
I made four of these for people:
The BF/MFT Workbench Build - Part 1
But, they are expensive if you aren't patient enough to shop used materials. Plus, I'm too much of a stickler for details to do mass production of such a thing.
That being said, I did partner with an extrusion company for this project. I paid for the materials, but they are saying they will support a kit setup if all goes well. 80/20 totally ignored the B/MFT project and there are probably 100s of those built at this point... It frustrated the **** out of me - mostly because I didn't have plans to give to people.
OP
I actually 3d printed some and a bought a few... I prefer the open look. It's more honest to me... I know, that's stupid.
OP
I actually need to find the perfect utility knife for the top drawer...
I'm thinking a vintage Stanley 199 would do great.
I'm making two videos of this build. One for YouTube and the other for a NASA junior engineering program. Because kids are involved, I'm really working to keep them grounded with some vintage **** sprinkled into this really modern cart.
That's really cool, I've been toying with the idea of making a cart out of extrusions for a while too!
I can get them at around 14€/metre here (plus or minus 1€ depending on design). We use a lot of such carts at work and they hold up great.
I'd consider enclosed extrusions on the outside. Like the double:
Or at least the one-side-enclosed style. They cost the same, are sleeker and easier to clean and quite a bit stronger. Unless you prefer the open style for the looks...
I'd probably use the "thin" 45x45 standard extrusions for the rest. The thick ones are much stronger but I do not believe I really need that.
All together some 200€ in extrusions. I wonder what the general price for these is in the US. Fair to note the mones I'm talking about are not the best quality - those would be the Bosch-Rexroth and are much more pricey.
I can get them at around 14€/metre here (plus or minus 1€ depending on design). We use a lot of such carts at work and they hold up great.
I'd consider enclosed extrusions on the outside. Like the double:
Or at least the one-side-enclosed style. They cost the same, are sleeker and easier to clean and quite a bit stronger. Unless you prefer the open style for the looks...
I'd probably use the "thin" 45x45 standard extrusions for the rest. The thick ones are much stronger but I do not believe I really need that.
All together some 200€ in extrusions. I wonder what the general price for these is in the US. Fair to note the mones I'm talking about are not the best quality - those would be the Bosch-Rexroth and are much more pricey.
OP
That's really cool, I've been toying with the idea of making a cart out of extrusions for a while too!
I can get them at around 14€/metre here (plus or minus 1€ depending on design). We use a lot of such carts at work and they hold up great.
I'd consider enclosed extrusions on the outside. Like the double:
Or at least the one-side-enclosed style. They cost the same, are sleeker and easier to clean and quite a bit stronger. Unless you prefer the open style for the looks...
I'd probably use the "thin" 45x45 standard extrusions for the rest. The thick ones are much stronger but I do not believe I really need that.
All together some 200€ in extrusions. I wonder what the general price for these is in the US. Fair to note the mones I'm talking about are not the best quality - those would be the Bosch-Rexroth and are much more pricey.
In my case, I don't typically used the closed off profiles. I see the "t-tracks" as opportunities to be more flexible on the fly. For instance, on the S/MC I'm using the side tracks for things like an iPad mount, a boom arm, etc... and on the BF/MFT, the tracks are used for virtually unlimited clamping positions.
Stuart in MN
Well-known member
It reminds me of airplane beverage carts, I've wondered how well those things would work around the garage.
I'd suggest coming up with some means of padding for the corners, to protect against scrapes and dents on your car.
I'd suggest coming up with some means of padding for the corners, to protect against scrapes and dents on your car.
OP
Adam Savage uses those beverage carts in his shop.
I designed mine given my very specific use case considering the cars and stuff I mostly work on. But, I haven't used it yet... It might ****.
OP
I've been asked about power. Plans are to run the whole thing with an M18 battery. My original idea was to take the M18 down to 12-volt and just run a 12v light as well as a car charger for the iPad. But I had this small Milwaukee inverter that they sent me for review and figured I would use it for a bit more flexibility. Only thing is, I didn't like it with the battery handing off and needed a way for a permanent mount. A little 3D printing and I've got a solution.
This will make more sense once I get it mounted.
This will make more sense once I get it mounted.
grant00
Well-known member
Love this. Interested in following along. Now to check out the BF/MFT thread…
OP
Haven't been able to work in the shop at all this week, BUT I did 3D print some grommets. There's a few places where wire is gonna pass through aluminum and I want something that fits and looks right.
Printed with 90A TPU.
Printed with 90A TPU.
larry4406
Well-known member
Cool project Ryan!
OP
Thanks fellas...
During lunch today I got the remote battery figured out and the wiring roughed into the panel...
During lunch today I got the remote battery figured out and the wiring roughed into the panel...
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
Are those military weapons cases in the lead photo? Plans for those - other than stockpiling for Armageddon?
OP
That’s where I keep my weed.
67CarGuy
Well-known member
You too, eh? Far out, man.
Cool design idea - definitely interested to see where this goes.
catalytic
Well-known member
Following -- I have spent some hours hunting for a box exactly like this for exactly the reasons you describe.
As you may have already guessed, it will be tipsier than a 'normal' box because the box will be lighter but the tools won't be. Might be worth planning for something to limit it to 1 drawer open at a time, or some heavy stuff in the bottom that doesn't pull out all the way.
As you may have already guessed, it will be tipsier than a 'normal' box because the box will be lighter but the tools won't be. Might be worth planning for something to limit it to 1 drawer open at a time, or some heavy stuff in the bottom that doesn't pull out all the way.
OP
This guy makes ****. You can tell because he immediately thought of the bad **** that can happen because of a design choice and wasn’t distracted by all the weird tech and shiny material choices.
***
Initially this cart was going to be 3’ x 1’. During the CAD phase, I enlarged it to 3’ by 1.5’ because of that very concern. Also, I’m not gonna store a ton of tools in this thing - just some basics. Most of the storage within will be dedicated to hardware organization to keep things sorted as I disassemble things and simple consumables. I have more drawer space than I actually need.
And as it has come together, I have gotten more confident. It feels pretty stable. Still, the tipsy thing will be a concern until proven otherwise while loaded down.
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
Is this a new way to compete with the Party Garage?
OP
Haha.
So, those military containers are my next project. Shop infrastructure deal.
Essentially, I use those 27 gallon bins from Home Depot… the black ones with a yellow top. Each project gets a bin and I have a stack of them in my shop for active projects, while archived stuff goes in my loft.
I hate the aesthetic of this and decided to do something about it. I bought 50 of these med bins at auction and am currently designing a rack for my shop floor and another for my loft.
So, those military containers are my next project. Shop infrastructure deal.
Essentially, I use those 27 gallon bins from Home Depot… the black ones with a yellow top. Each project gets a bin and I have a stack of them in my shop for active projects, while archived stuff goes in my loft.
I hate the aesthetic of this and decided to do something about it. I bought 50 of these med bins at auction and am currently designing a rack for my shop floor and another for my loft.
catalytic
Well-known member
In case it does end up too tipsy, one other thing I have done when designing & welding carts for tall heavy stuff is to use 2 fixed and 2 swivel casters (2 swivel on right, 2 fixed on left). With all 4 swivel casters, the scariest/tipsiest moment is when you pull your cart towards you and it hits a bump, and because it's coming towards you, the two front swivel casters have swiveled underneath the box so that the front of the box overhangs them. Hit a bump, then the drawers want to roll out from momentum, then you have a lot of weight cantilevered.
Or maybe your floor is smoother than mine and you don't have to worry...
ned911
Well-known member
What are you using for the sides?
gahrajmahal
Well-known member
My version of this cart I made when I was a poor U-Haul mechanic and couldn’t afford a tool box roll around. I bought a stick of 1 x 1 and welded a frame together on lunch hours. I covered the sides with take off wall skins from a damaged truck. (I sold the remaining aluminum to pay for the steel). Someone donated some used casters and hinges, two fixed and two swivel. The handles are boat hardware. It now lives in the middle space of the garage and contained my work boots, grinding and weld masks and safety goggles / glasses for the grandsons. During my stone wall repairing I stack the 80# bags of mortar on top. It has had as many as 12 on it and the doors still open easily.
OP
I had some five year old scraps of really ****** 1/2-inch "sande" plywood from Home Depot. I laminated some Wilson Art laminate to one side and painted the other. Then, I mounted my dado blade on the table saw and machined the thickness of the edges to accept the extrusion.
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
Ryan,Haha.
So, those military containers are my next project. Shop infrastructure deal.
Essentially, I use those 27 gallon bins from Home Depot… the black ones with a yellow top. Each project gets a bin and I have a stack of them in my shop for active projects, while archived stuff goes in my loft.
I hate the aesthetic of this and decided to do something about it. I bought 50 of these med bins at auction and am currently designing a rack for my shop floor and another for my loft.
Thank you for satisfying my curiosity! That looks like a sweet idea.
P.S. There seems to be some shiny spots showing through some paint chips on those medical totes. Are they perhaps aluminum? If our next picture of these shows them sand blasted clean and polished to a mirror finish, we will definitely know you are competing with the party garage! Lets see, 50 of those polished up to a mirror finish shouldn't take more than a couple of years.
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OP
Ryan,
Thank you for satisfying my curiosity! That looks like a sweet idea.
P.S. There seems to be some shiny spots showing through some paint chips on those medical totes. Are they perhaps aluminum? If our next picture of these shows them sand blasted clean and polished to a mirror finish, we will definitely know you are competing with the party garage! Lets see, 50 of those polished up to a mirror finish shouldn't take more than a couple of years.
Yes... they are aluminum... and I am going to blast a few, but not all. I don't, however, plan on polishing them.
Ryan, how do you mount your casters to the extrusions? I figure you used some sort of bracket designed to mate the casters to the extrusion, but maybe not. Looking at some T-slot vendors like Futura and 80/20, the casters don't seem to be designed to fit the T-slots, nor do they sell a separate bracket for this purpose.
I'm thinking of building a cart and the caster mounting approach isn't clear. Of course I could use the brute force approach but it seems like a simple quick-disconnect way of attaching casters would be available.
I'm thinking of building a cart and the caster mounting approach isn't clear. Of course I could use the brute force approach but it seems like a simple quick-disconnect way of attaching casters would be available.
The simplest way is to get the casters that use a single centre bolt to attach to stuff.
OP
There are three ways... and I've done all of them:
1. Stem casters. With these, you just run the stem through the center hole in your upright extrusion. All you have to do is tap that hole and make sure you buy the right stem size... This works fine and is probably the cheapest.
2. If you want to run some really heavy duty 4-bolt casters, 80/20 and others sell an adaptor plate. This is what I did on the BF/MFT.
3. For the S/MC, I am actually using extrusion specific swivel casters similar to these:
Basically, they just bolt on through the t-track directly...
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That's cool, but $56 each? Am I seeing that right?3. For the S/MC, I am actually using extrusion specific swivel casters similar to these:
https://www.grainger.com/product/55MU53?gucid=N:N
OP
Yeah, they can get crazy expensive. I've seen variations as high as $75 each...
I think I paid $27 each for the casters on the S/MC. Still a lot of dough, but to me casters are really important... Cheap casters piss me off to no end when trying to roll something accurately or trying to go over extension cords and airlines.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Absolutely agree. Nice casters just make it so much easier and nicer to use.
I may be complaining, but I'd spend the money for good ones. Plus made in Germany? Don't see that a lot
OP
The whole "made in" thing can be ********... BUT, I can't remember a time that I was let down by something actually made in Germany or Japan. Usually, it's wayyyy over priced to the point of stupidity and I always have to talk myself into the rationality, but often it ends with something that feels like I'll own for life and I rarely regret it.
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